Helen Raleigh, a Centennial Institute Fellow and senior contributor for the Federalist, spoke with the Daily Caller’s Samantha Renck about the United States’ decision to close the Chinese consulate in Houston, China’s response to that action and more.
This week, the United States ordered the shutdown of the Chinese consulate in Houston. Days later, the Chinese responded by demanding the U.S. shut down their consulate in Chengdu.
“Closing a consulate is a dramatic, serious step,” Raleigh said. “Normally, countries do not engage in such a dramatic step, as you mentioned. U.S. ordered China to close a consulate and now China retaliated.”
Raleigh continued, “this kind of dramatic step usually means — if we keep at it — it will lead to dissolved diplomatic relationships so this the most important and serious step. I don’t think there’s any doubt we’re engaged in a Cold War.”
Raleigh also discussed the significance of the South China Sea and recent action by the Trump Administration.
The South China Sea, which “historically has shared claims by countries including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and a number of other countries,” is “important because a third of the world’s international trade passing through this body of water. Also, it’s rich with natural resources,” including “10 percent of the world’s fishery” and “a huge deposit of oil and gas.”
Raleigh also discussed the possibility of a military conflict between the U.S. and China, the role the Trump Administration has played in dealing with the CCP and more. (RELATED: Singaporean Man Pleads Guilty To Spying On Behalf Of China, Recruiting Agents Through Job Networking Websites)
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